Category Archives: Let’s Make Something Beautiful

One of the truly awesome superpowers you gain when you start kit bashing and scratch building scale models is a limited-scope future vision that allows you to see which everyday household objects would make great spaceships. It’s like a really useless ESP or an X-Ray vision that doesn’t let you see through blouses. Seeing as I lack any decent super power, I’m not going to register my complaint with the Justice League just yet.

The key components used in the spacecraft pictured above are Hubba Bubba measuring tape gum dispensers. My son loves the stuff and probably chewed his way through a few miles of it before I started scratch building. Not long after my super power was attenuated, I saw a couple of the empty containers in the back seat of my car and visions of the Battlestar Galactica rag tag fleet danced in my head.

The "Mineral Ship" from the new Battlestar Galactica series - aka the "Livery Ship" in the original BSG series.

As a kid, I loved the original Battlestar Galactica. My favorite parts of every episode were the establishing shots of the “rag tag fleet” all floating in space together. I remember the original series with the same fondness I afford to The Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, The A-Team, and Automan. Yes, they were cheesy and have not aged well. Fortunately, the reboot of Battlestar Galactica was one of the best television series produced in the past several years. I thought it was intelligent, funny, and thought-provoking. The writing and acting were both excellent. And the spaceships looked really cool. As a kid, I especially liked the tri-disc-shaped ship and my nostalgia sensors overloaded when I saw it had been reproduced for the new series.

Activate the jump drive and follow me to the next set of coordinates where instructions on how to turn discarded Hubba Bubba containers into your very own BSG-inspired ship await your discovery.

Scale model making is one true subculture that has yet to go mainstream and be turned into a reality television talent show. Probably because it would be the world’s dullest program, populated by nerdy old farts who’ve sniffed too much glue. Don’t believe me? Go to any hobby shop– well, any of the few remaining hobby shops that still sell scale models– and watch the model makers in their natural habitat. You’ll likely find it’s an excellent cure for insomnia, especially if you dare engage them in conversation.

I can say this because I am a scale modeler and I know it’s kind of a boring hobby to anyone who’s not also an enthusiast. I used to feel the same way until I got into it. There are many different kinds of model makers. Personally, I prefer the subject of WWII aviation. However, I also love science fiction. But unless you’re just dying to build something from Star Trek, Star Wars, or Battlestar Gallactica, there are few options. The good news is, with just a little bit of creativity, your stodgy old Jerry Blitz bomber can become a Martian warbird like this:

To find out how I did it, follow me after the jump for a rather photo-intensive explanation.